This I Believe

I could say, religiously, that I am here to gain some sort of eternal reward, to achieve a higher state of being, but that wouldn’t be the truth to me. Man may exist for some cosmic journey, but this leg of the journey is his own. Man is here, if for any purpose, to find his own purpose, be it through religion, knowledge, penitence, decadence, joy, or pleasure. It is not in my conscience to look at a man and say if they meet a prerequisite to be human. That is his job.

Again I say, I was raised to love knowledge, to seek freedom, but mostly to find real, longstanding joy instead of momentary pleasure. This gives me purpose. I find my meaning here, but I know many people have their own take. Most people don’t care about the intricacies of a computer program. I find real entertainment in comprehending them. On the opposite end, I find football drab. My brother thinks I’m an idiot for that.

Man kind’s problems start when one man thinks his way is perfect. Undefeatable. Anyone who disagrees is a waste of flesh. This is why Indian shop-keeps get assaulted, why homosexuals can’t marry, why Hitler’s plan worked.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is more than a cliché. Man has a right to all of them, and each gives way to the next. Without life, there is no liberty, without liberty, we can’t be our true selves. Without happiness, life is a burden, rather than the joy it could be. Of course, we still have to find that happiness.

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Top 100 Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.